“Well, let’s say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning’s sample, it would be a Twinkie… thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.” ~ Egon Spengler
Levitating Superconductor on a Möbius strip
•February 24, 2014 • Leave a CommentAndy demonstrates the remarkable properties of the superconducting material — Yttrium barium copper oxide — which allows his super-conducting boat to seemingly float both above and below the track:
Quantum Redshift w/ a Pinch of Saffron [comics]
•February 24, 2014 • Leave a Comment
I received a comic in the mail recently all the way from England! It’s a 10 page, one-shot promo comic tie-in for the 2002 Xbox exclusive game “Quantum Redshift.”
Cover Artist: Carlos D’anda / Writer: Dennis O’Neil / Artist: Paco Medina
The story centers on Kumiko who is blackmailed into losing a race so her boyfriend won’t get hurt. He was taken as a means of ransom to get revenge against Kumiko’s father who made a bad deal with some mob folks. I think the story is lame and basic and so is the artwork, neither doing much justice for an awesome future racer sport.
The comic sets-up the badmouthing and animosity between characters during the game’s pre-race cutscenes — in this case it’s about the Nikaido sisters, Kumiko and Ami — but the same story could have been told about a game of tennis or lawnbowls. A wasted opportunity to showcase any level of uniqueness that Quantum Redshift has.
The quantum vehicles don’t get much of any panel time and there isn’t much exposition explaining the game. The comic is a keeper though, but only because I love the game’s 16 characters, the game’s design, the gameplay and the game’s soundtrack by JunkieXL:
The voice behind “Crusher” may sound familiar to anyone who grew up watching music videos in the 90’s:
Man I loved that song. Redshift (something that happens when light from an object moving away from the observer is increased in wavelength, or shifted to the red end of the spectrum) was meant to be a one million dollar Wipeout killer and Curly Monsters Ltd. were contracted by Microsoft to make a sequel. So what happened? You can read more about it @ Eurogamer.net
Bill Hicks “It’s Just a Ride”
•February 24, 2014 • Leave a CommentA fantastic speech from the late Bill Hicks:
“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it’s very brightly colored, and it’s very loud, and it’s fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, “Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?” And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, “Hey, don’t worry; don’t be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.” And we…kill those people. “Shut him up! I’ve got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.” It’s just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok… But it doesn’t matter, because it’s just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”
Pussy Riot “Putin will teach you how to love / Путин научит тебя любить Родину” [music video]
•February 22, 2014 • Leave a Comment
I think these women are fucking awesome. Not only are they angsty musicians who in my opinion make the world more colourful and accepting of difference, they are also fearless, because what they stand for is important. In the news the day before yesterday, I saw the raw scenes of violence during their video shoot at the Sochi Winter Olympics, so the fact they’ve already released their music video is impressive. The music video that Pussy Riot filmed while Cossacks whipped them is actually great footage for their song which talks about the repression of Vladimir Putin’s Russia:
Beating women and gays is not cool, Russia. Cracking down on people’s freedoms is so not cool. I have my reasons for supporting the feminist punk collective, but maybe I’m thinking that some people require a tiny incentive or push in the right direction — the ever-growing line-up of foreign pro-Pussy Riot celebrities include Red Hot Chilly Peppers, Bjork, Madonna, Faith No More, Sting, film director Terry Gilliam, songwriter Peter Gabriel, actor Danny DeVito, Franz Ferdinand and the great Slovenian Marxist philosopher, psychoanalyst and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek, just to name a few, all of whom are incredibly good-natured and smart individuals. All is not right with the world — Rock on Pussy Riot!
“Freedom to all political prisoners on the May 6 case, to the environmentalist Evgeny Vitishko and all other political prisoners! See you at the Zamoskvoretsky court in Moscow on February 24 at 10.30 — when the judge will start to read the sentence for the May 6 case.”
#FreeAJStaff in Egypt because journalism is not a crime
•February 22, 2014 • Leave a CommentMohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and correspondent Peter Greste, were detained December 29. The trio, who are accused of joining, or aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation, appeared in court in Cairo on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges against them. Their trial is set to resume March 5. Another Al Jazeera journalist, Abdullah al-Shami of the network’s Arabic channel, has been held since August.
To draw awareness about our detained journalists, we are using a social amplification platform called Thunderclap to flood Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr in anticipation of a global day of action on press freedom February 27.
Lorde took home “Best International Female Solo Artist” at the BRIT Awards 2014
•February 20, 2014 • Leave a CommentFour time nominated Disclosure team up with New Zealand’s Lorde and AlunaGeorge to perform a special version of ‘Royals’ and ‘White Noise.’
The Roots, Jimmy Fallon & Will Smith Present “The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing”
•February 20, 2014 • Leave a CommentA brief history of hip-hop dance moves in three minutes:
Haha, they had me at “The I’m About To Break Dance”, “The Fish Eye” and “The Carlton.”
Sesame Street Fighter [mashup]
•February 19, 2014 • Leave a CommentThis game teaches typing skills in an interactive way with a nostalgic twist for those in the know, one muppet hadouken at a time — A game this silly could’ve changed my life:
Four years ago, DeviantArt artist gavacho13 imagined the worlds of Sesame Street and Street Fighter merging as one. Now, you can play an actual HTML5 game based on that brilliant idea. While Sesame Street Fighter is light on actual gameplay — you just type a few words on screen — the mashup elements are nicely done with animated characters, a backdrop, and music that clearly incorporate both sources of inspiration. ~ Sean Hollister
Like the concept but looking for something less sesame and a little more, blast-phemy, ahem, well this game might be right up your dark alley — The Typing of The Dead:
Typing of the dead: Overkill fuses the horror and comedy of the legendary House of the Dead series with unique typing mechanics in order to deliver a truly original gaming experience!
I’m probbaly one of the most articulate people you would ever have the pleasure of talking with (if I do say so myself) but if yiu asked me to spell I would probably convinclingly trip over myself and conviently break my fingers so you would never know how horribly semi-illiterate I truly am. People have thought I was smart simply because I take time to respond, I’m just really shit at certain average things, spelling being the one ultimate, embarrassing weakness of mine (here’s to wanting to be a published writer someday, pfft). Thanks again video games and Sesame Street Muppets!
Movies in Parks — GRAVITY
•February 19, 2014 • Leave a Comment
Sounded great, until I watched ScreenJunkies’ “Honest Trailers” mocking of GRAVITY — It’s packed with spoilers and made for people who have already seen the movie, or if you’re like me, had no real interest in the film itself until they saw it being advertised as a free screening 😛
Passing Time on the Train by October Jones
•February 18, 2014 • Leave a Comment
“BEST THING about travelling by train: Sometimes you get to see famous people just chillaxing.”
Best Street Drummer Ever
•February 18, 2014 • Leave a CommentHe doesn’t play in the nude nor does he throw-up anytime during his performance, but he sure can drum:
🎭 